Modern European-style cabinet hinges (Blum, Hettich, Salice — found on most cabinets installed in the last 30 years) have built-in adjustment screws that let you fine-tune the door's position in three directions: side-to-side, up-down, and in-out from the cabinet frame. The doors don't 'just settle' over time — they shift, and the hinges need periodic adjustment to keep the doors hanging straight.
This guide covers Blum-style and Hettich-style hinges (the dominant residential cabinet hinges in Canada). Older traditional surface hinges and pivot hinges work differently and don't have the same adjustment range.
Before you start
Three things to settle:
1. Identify your hinge type. Open the cabinet door. The hinge mounted to the door's inside has a cup that fits into a circular hole in the door, and an arm extending to a baseplate on the cabinet's interior side. If you see two screws on the arm itself plus a third screw on the baseplate, you have an adjustable European hinge with three-axis adjustment. Older surface-mount hinges (visible from outside the cabinet) generally don't adjust.
2. Read the doors before adjusting. Before turning any screws, look at the cabinet face. Identify what's wrong: doors not aligning with each other (one higher than its neighbour), doors gapping at the top, doors rubbing the cabinet frame, doors closing tilted. Each issue maps to a specific adjustment direction.
3. Patience and small adjustments. Hinge screws have surprisingly fine effect — a quarter turn moves the door about 1mm. Don't crank screws expecting big movement. Make small adjustments, close the door, evaluate, repeat. Most adjustments take 3-5 cycles.
What you'll need
Tools
- Phillips screwdriver (matched to hinge screw size)
- Flat-head screwdriver (for some Hettich models)
- Tape measure or small ruler
- Pencil for marking
- Flashlight (for working inside cabinets)
Materials
- Replacement hinges (only if the existing hinges are damaged or don't have adjustment)
Three screws, three directions
European hinges have three independent adjustments: Horizontal/side-to-side (the front screw on the hinge arm — moves the door left/right relative to the cabinet); Vertical/up-down (the screws on the baseplate — moves the door up or down); Depth/in-out (the back screw on the hinge arm — moves the door closer to or further from the cabinet).
Identify which screw does what before you start turning. Most hinges have small icons or markings indicating function, but if not, test by turning each screw a quarter turn and watching the door move.
Step-by-step instructions
Diagnose what's wrong with the door
Open and close the door slowly. Watch where it contacts other doors, the cabinet frame, or itself.
Common problems:
- Door rubs another door at the seam: shift this door horizontally away from the seam (use the front screw on the hinge arm).
- Door is lower than its neighbour: raise this door (use the baseplate screws to lift).
- Door doesn't close fully (gaps when closed): increase depth so the door pulls in tighter to the cabinet (use the back screw on the hinge arm).
- Door closes crooked (top edge angled in): the hinges aren't matched — adjust each hinge individually to align.
Make the horizontal adjustment first
If the door is misaligned side-to-side, identify the front screw on each hinge arm. Most European hinges show a small horizontal-arrow icon near this screw.
Turn the screw clockwise to move the door one direction (typically toward the hinge side); counterclockwise the other direction. A quarter turn moves the door about 1mm.
Adjust both top and bottom hinges by the same amount to keep the door parallel. Different amounts on top and bottom create a tilt.
Adjust vertical positioning
If the door is too high or too low, the baseplate (the part attached to the cabinet, not the door) has the vertical-adjustment screws.
Loosen the baseplate's mounting screws (usually two screws), shift the baseplate up or down by a small amount, retighten. Some hinges have a slot in the baseplate that allows shifting without fully removing screws.
Both hinges (top and bottom) need to be shifted by identical amounts. Adjust each separately and check alignment.
Adjust depth (in-out)
If the door doesn't sit flush with the cabinet face when closed, or if the door rubs the frame on closing, adjust depth.
Find the back screw on the hinge arm — typically marked with an arrow icon pointing perpendicular to the door.
Turn the screw clockwise to pull the door deeper into the cabinet; counterclockwise to push it outward. Quarter turns at a time.
Re-check after each adjustment
After each adjustment, close the door fully and look at the result. Open and close several times — sometimes the door appears aligned the first time but shifts on subsequent closings.
Make notes if you're tracking which screws have been turned how far. It's easy to lose track on a kitchen with 20 doors.
Adjust adjacent doors to match
On a kitchen with multiple doors in a row, the visual gap between adjacent doors should be uniform — typically 1/8 inch.
If door A is correctly aligned but door B is offset, adjust door B (not door A). Treat one door as the reference and align others to it.
After all adjustments, walk past the kitchen and view doors at various angles. Misalignments are most visible at sharp angles.
Pro tip: if you've made many adjustments and doors still don't align, the cabinet boxes themselves may not be square. Hinges have limited adjustment range; you can't compensate for an out-of-square cabinet box with hinge tweaks. Verify cabinet level/plumb separately.
Replace damaged hinges
If a hinge has stripped screws, broken parts, or won't hold an adjustment, it needs replacement.
Modern Blum and Hettich hinges are dimension-standardized — replacements fit existing hardware locations without re-drilling. The cup hole on the door is typically 35mm; the baseplate mounting hole pattern is standardized.
Buy a matching hinge (Blum 71B3550, Hettich Sensys 8645i, etc.) at any cabinet hardware retailer.
Lubricate moving parts annually
European hinges have moving pivot points that benefit from light lubrication. Apply a tiny dab of silicone-based grease (not WD-40, which dries out) to the pivot pins annually.
Lubricated hinges last decades; un-lubricated hinges develop play that affects door alignment over years.
Common mistakes that cost you
- Cranking screws past quarter-turns. Hinge screws have very fine effect. Big turns cause the door to swing wildly out of alignment. Small adjustments only.
- Adjusting only one hinge of a pair. Top and bottom hinges must be adjusted equally. Asymmetric adjustment tilts the door.
- Trying to fix out-of-square cabinets with hinge adjustments. Cabinet boxes that aren't level/plumb can't be compensated by hinges. Fix the cabinet box first.
- Using WD-40 as lubricant. WD-40 evaporates and leaves no protective film. Use silicone-based grease for moving parts.
- Stripping screws by over-tightening. Hinge screws are typically self-tapping and only need light torque. Hand-tight is enough.
Frequently asked questions
Which way do I turn the screw to move the door?
Most European hinges show small arrow icons near each adjustment screw indicating direction. If not, test: turn one screw a quarter turn, close the door, observe the change. Reverse if the door moved the wrong way.
Conventionally: clockwise tightens / pulls in, counterclockwise loosens / pushes out. But specific hinges vary.
How much can I adjust a door?
Typical European hinges allow ±2 to 3mm in each direction. That's enough to compensate for normal cabinet settling and minor misalignments.
If your door is off by more than 5mm, the cabinet box itself is out of square or the hinge has been damaged. Hinge adjustment alone won't fix it.
Why are the hinges loose?
The mounting screws have worked themselves loose over time. Tighten them with a screwdriver — but only hand-tight; don't strip the screw threads in the cabinet wood.
If the screw won't hold, the screw hole in the cabinet wood has stripped. Fill the hole with toothpick fragments and wood glue, let dry, then re-drive the screw.
When to call us instead
If your cabinets are damaged beyond hinge adjustment — broken cabinet boxes, severely out-of-square installation, or doors that won't align even after careful adjustment — that's a kitchen-renovation level fix. We do cabinet refacing and replacement as part of larger kitchen scopes.
Book a free 60-minute site visit →Related Ottawa services
If your cabinet alignment problems point to deeper issues, our kitchen renovation team handles refacing, replacement, and structural fixes. Book a free 60-minute consultation.